Every day I go to work

I'm training to be 

something that'll make them look good

Make them look great

Something to make them proud

Often it's forgotten I'm not proud of myself

I don't care about VIP or Prom Queen

I care about MSU and my GPA

I care about soccer and my team

My teachers don't care about me

They care how I reflect them

They care about my test scores

But not how it benefits me

They care how it represents their skill

If I fail then they fail

That's not something they want

So they train me

They prepare me

They test me

They teach me

As students we need more than lessons

We need compassion

We need inspiration

We need hope

We don't need promises of McDonald's employment

Promises of a future in a cardboard box

Teachers remember

Remember you were once young

Young and ambitious

Give us a break

School is a job

We work the same shift as you

Then go to our own after-school job

We are the same

Yet we are more than that

We are more than a classroom of ignorance

We are more than the sum of failed grades

We are so much more than you think

So give us a break

And give us respect

We already have a career

And we are working towards a better one